Here’s what the ‘holographic’ display could look like on the upcoming $1,200 RED smartphone

Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) had a great hands-on video with the RED Hydrogen One smartphone in early August, but unfortunately he wasn’t allowed to show the “holographic display” the company had talked up.

Personally, the Hydrogen One’s holographic display was the one thing I was hoping would be revealed, as it can be difficult to get excited about tech when we’re not exactly sure what it’ll look like or how it’ll work.

On Thursday, however, RED CEO Jim Jannard announced a “long term exclusive partnership” with holographic display company Leia Inc on the Reduser.net forum, which was first spotted by Engadget. The announcement helps reveal what the Hydrogen One’s display will look like if the tech delivers on its advertising.

It just so happens that Leia’s YouTube channel contains a video showcasing a promotional video of its holographic display, which could be similar to what we’ll see on RED’s Hydrogen One smartphone. It’s important to note that this doesn’t appear to be actual footage of the display in action, but rather CGI-rendered marketing material, so we still don’t know if the tech can deliver in real-world settings.

From the GIF above and Leia’s YouTube video, it seems that the company is claiming its tech allows for items to appear to float directly on top of the display, creating an effect where the display itself is a surface for the holographic items, like the car and the cones above, to rest on.

Another example, pictured below, shows that the company is claiming items can appear like they’re extending out from the display, not just resting on top of the display.

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YouTube/Leia Inc

But not all content will be able to holographically protrude from the display, as you saw above. For the effect to work, the company says content like photos, games, and videos will have to be produced or shot in the “.h4v” format, which will be supported by one of the camera modules that RED will offer for the modular Hydrogen One. It isn’t clear yet if apps themselves could be displayed holographically.

Check out Leia’s full one-minute YouTube video for more of the display in action: